Immigrants and fertility in the UK: Macro and micro perspectives Seminar

This seminar focuses on the indirect contribution of immigration to population growth in the UK, through fertility. Examining fertility of immigrants and their children, within ethnic groups, and across successive cohorts of immigrant women, reveals a process of inter-ethnic convergence. I present evidence of intergenerational fertility reduction and investigate the role of women’s educational attainment. The results are discussed within the theoretical framework available to analyse fertility of immigrants and minority groups, including the minority status, the assimilation model and transnational perspectives. Although the ongoing intergenerational fertility convergence for groups originating from high fertility countries is congruent with the assimilation theory, the diversity of socio-demographic patterns across and within ethnic groups suggests that more complex macro-micro processes are at play.